Mozart
himself, in a dapper red coat and white powered wig, makes an appearance at the
start of the Atlanta Opera's "The Magic Flute," one of many charming
conceits in this convincing new production shared with Indiana University's
professional-quality Jacobs School of Music.

In Tomer
Zvulun's stage direction, the singers react naturally to each other and
communicate directly with the audience. The almost-capacity crowd Saturday
night laughed merrily at the jokes and cheered mightily when the music turned
athletic and epic

It
helps, too, that they had a good dragon. Puppets are in vogue in theater and
opera these days, and this "Magic Flute," which premiered in Indiana
in November, is wonderfully whimsical without being hollow -- a difficult
balance.

Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’

By George Walker

Nov 16, 2009 for Indiana Public Media

The
IU Opera theatre's production
of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute,”
Die Zauberflote is a
wonderfully colorful evening of cleverness, wit and whimsy that doesn’t
sacrifice a note of the music, the weighty messages that the Masonic Mozart
include, or the humanity of his characters.

The
new sets and costumes from David Higgins vary from the spectacular to the
simple with lots of clever little variations. His costumes use a variety of
color palettes, styles and textures to separate the characters and the groups
clearly just as Mozart varied music does.

Throughout
“The Magic Flute” stage director Tomer Zvulun has worked to see that the
characters aren’t just stick figures who sing. There were nice little personal
touches. The prince feels challenged and has his doubts. The bird catcher is a
comic, but one with all too human concerns. The Queen of the Night is perhaps a
misguided villainess, but she’s also a caring mother. There was plenty of action
throughout. At the same time, Zvulun didn’t hesitate to stage a quintet with
all five of the singers lined right up across the stage in a formal array.

Set, costumes are stars of "Magic Flute"

BY PETER JACOBI

HERALD TIMES REVIEWER

David
Higgins who conceived and designed the sets and costumes, provided an
eye-catching environment that envelops the action for Mozart’s
timeless entertainment. Even the composer makes an appearance amid the clever
happenings that animate the Musical Arts Center stage. Panels open, slide,
lift, and fold to shape seemingly effortless scene changes. Canopies and
backdrops lower and rise. Gardens, grottos and assorted props glide in and out.

And to
help satisfy the fairy tale elements of the story, there’s a huge and squiggly
dragon. There are birds that nibble and peck. There are full-sized, huggable
animals. All, of course, are make-believe and brought to life by puppeteers

Higgins’
imagination has made everything possible. His cohort in this endeavor is stage
director Tomer Zvulun, a young Israeli visiting from the Metropolitan Opera and
elsewhere who sought ways to imbue this Mozart classic with the right blend of
fantasy, magic, majestic ceremony and mirth. The team
has managed to do so, with excellent help from Marie Barrett’s evocative
lighting.